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WGC HSBC CHAMPIONSNovember 3, 2019Rory McIlroyShanghai, China Q. Your third WGC win. How hard was that win? RORY McILROY: It was so hard. I felt after shooting 10-under par for the first two days, thinking going bogey-free over the weekend, I thought that would probably be enough to get the job done. I played 73 holes this week with Xander, and I have to give credit to him. He's battled the flu all week and he's played unbelievably well considering how he's been feeling. 18 has been good to me over the week. Had an eagle Friday, a great birdie yesterday, and got lucky in regulation not to go in the water and it was a relief to hit those two shots in the playoff. Q. Did you feel as though the face of the golf course changed on the back nine? RORY McILROY: It did. The greens started to get firmer. I sort of noticed it on 13 with my approach shot. I thought I hit a really good 9-iron that pitched a couple short and ran through to the back of the green. Similar shot at 15 that runs back. I had to make a couple of good up-and-downs just to sort of hang in there. It did. It got a little firmer. It got tricky as the day went on. At that point I just needed to hit fairways and greens. It's a tough closing stretch, even though there's holes that you think you should birdie, danger is waiting around every corner. I've played conservatively when I needed to and thankfully it paid off. Q. What do you think standing over a shot from 223 yards into the last in a playoff? RORY McILROY: I actually picked out, there's a sign just left of the walkway to the back of the 18th and I picked that out and just said, make a good swing, and if I made a good swing on it, hopefully the wind would catch it and bring it back to the right. It was a perfect number with a 4-iron just back into the wind a little bit. You've got to take everything else out of the equation and hit the golf shot. Q. As FedExCup Champion, how mindful are you in getting off to a great start in the defence of that great title you hold? RORY McILROY: Yeah, thanks. I am. I am mindful of it. I got off to a good start in the FedExCup last year, and that sort of -- being up there from the start is huge. I think this win gets me to No. 1 in the FedExCup, which is nice going into the break. I'm going to take two months off after I play in Dubai in a couple of weeks' time, and I'm looking forward to that great but I've still got one more tournament left this year in a place that I've had some success. I want to try to finish the year on a high note. Q. And you're chasing down Brooks? RORY McILROY: Trying to. I'm trying to. I'm still a little behind I think, but I'm getting there. This win definitely helps and if I can get another win by the end of the year, I'll be feeling pretty good going into 2020. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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